Cravings
by Fantasy's-Priestess
Summary: When Scully calls in the middle of the night with a strange craving, Mulder's world is turned upside-down...


Mulder was sleeping unsoundly, dreaming of probes and drills and the same face everywhere he looked, when his cell phone rang. Normally he was a sound sleeper, but thankfully his cell phone was on his nightstand right near his face; therefore in an ample place for him to hear it. Besides even if it had been in the kitchen he probably would've heard it, his sleep that fitful.

Despite how groggy he was he jumped at the shrill sound of his cell phone. He twisted in his bed, effectively ruining the dynamic of the bed-sheets and checked the Caller ID. His eyes widened and he immediately awoke completely when Scully's name flashed on the screen. Without a second thought, he answered the phone with a worried, "Scully?"

"Mulder, it's me…" Scully's voice rang true at the other end of the phone. But the thing was her tone didn't give away to any worry or fright or anything horrible really. This made Mulder relax in the slightest. Thankfully to him Scully was like an open-book to him and if _he _can't determine any worry or fright, then it was most likely not there.

"Hey Scully…you okay?" Mulder asked.

"Oh I'm fine…Well, not really. I have a really big problem." Scully said as something _clanged _in the background.

"Oh?" Mulder asked, confused. She didn't sound like she had that big a problem…_but it has to be big if she's calling at…3 in the morning. _Mulder berated, taking a quick glance at the clock.

"Yeah…hey, did you take my last bag of sunflower seeds?"

"What?" Mulder asked, thoroughly confused now.

"Did you take my last bag of sunflower seeds when you were over here last night?" Scully impatiently asked, as if she was talking to a misbehaving toddler.

"Um…yeah, I think so." Mulder said, scratching his head. What did any of this have to do with her problem?

"_Crap!"_ Scully cursed from the other end, completely shocking and awaking Mulder.

"Scully, seriously, what's the matter?" Mulder asked. Now _he _was impatient!

"It's just…you know how pregnant women have cravings? Some, unfortunately, in the night time?"

"Yeah…"

"…You seriously don't know where I'm going with this?" Scully asked in her '_You can't be that stupid' _voice.

"Scully, may I remind you, it's 3 in the morning. On a Saturday. That means my brain is not fully functioning yet as I usually _just_ get to sleep at this hour. So can you please connect the dots for me?" Mulder asked, rubbing his free hand over his eyes. Now that he thought about it, as welcome at the call was, he was still deadbeat tired.

"Fine," Scully sighed in her demeaning voice (a voice that used to annoy Mulder but now he just associated it with her know-it-all personality), "Where I'm basically going is I'm having cravings for sunflower seeds at 3 in the morning. Out of all the foods and time in the world."

"Well…shit." Mulder said, not really thinking of anything else to say. Either then the fact that he had eaten the last of her sunflower seeds; he didn't really know what he had to do with this.

"Yes, shit. And here's the problem; these cravings only get worse with time. And if I don't satisfy the craving, I'll never fall asleep. And there's also the problem I can barely get behind the wheel of a car and I don't want to go through the pain of getting dressed and walking for practically a mile to the nearest corner store…"

"Get to the point."

"Can you maybe…pick me up some sunflower seeds and bring them over? Like right now?"

Silence was the only response Scully got for a few seconds before Mulder replied in a shocked voice, "So, you want _me _to get up, go through the pain of getting dressed, find you some sunflower seeds and bring them to you so _you _can sleep soundly?"

"Yeah." Scully whispered in her _'Pretty please do it for me' _voice.

Mulder sighed as he caught himself actually thinking about doing it. Scully was being completely unreasonable…She basically had no right to call in the middle of the night and ask for him to get out of bed to find her sunflower seeds…But the thing was, Scully had Mulder wrapped around her little finger. He'd do anything for her…including getting her sunflower seeds at 3 in the morning.

"If I can locate some sunflower seeds in my apartment, expect me in half-an-hour. If I have to shop for them, then expect me from half-an-hour to an hour. Hang tight." Mulder sighed before hanging up his phone. But thankfully before he did so he was able to catch the excited squealing from the other end of the phone, making him smile.

He had to admit, even if he loses sleep over this, even if he has to drag his tired ass all over town to find his very pregnant and very glowing best friend a pack of his favourite treat, that squeal was worth _everything _that this night entailed for him.

Hopefully, he would remember that feeling for the next few hours.

**~~::~~**

Scully was dutifully waiting on her ivory couch for Mulder's brisk knock. She had the T.V. on in the background, playing _F.R.I.E.N.D.S. _of all shows, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her mind drifted to the little one in her womb and the overwhelming craving in her stomach around 10 minutes into the show. Besides, this particular episode wasn't one of her favourites. Phoebe was finally giving birth to the triplets and Scully knew from the beginning of the show that Phoebe would ultimately have to give them up. That was not a subject she wanted to dwell on, because God knew she would probably end up yelling at the T.V. (_because I mean, c'mon! I had a hard time having one baby, yet she has triplets and just gives them up without a fight?_).

Scully sighed as she let her head drop onto her folded arm. She was so tired, but the blasted (yet miraculous) baby wanted _sunflower _seeds of all things at the moment and refused to let her sleep without having at least one seed.

"You remind me of a certain man I know," Scully commented, looking at her baby bump, "A certain man who just happens to have helped me make you. I hope. I pray. I'm sure." Scully nodded resolutely before patting her baby bump, hoping to calm her hungry stomach and sleeping baby.

She sure hoped Mulder wouldn't take too long.

**~~::~~**

Mulder's vigorous knocking 15 minutes later awoke Scully from her reverie. She blinked rapidly and sat there for a few milliseconds wondering what the heck was going on…but then the beautiful knocking entered her ears.

She smiled excitedly as she eased herself off of the couch. Normally she'd be jumping up excitedly and dashing to the door; but such activity was forbidden because of the heavy bulge that was her stomach. So she resigned herself to her boring pace as she, swiftly as she could, walked over to the door.

Just for security reasons though, she called out, "Who is it?"

"That stripper you called for." A deep voice answered. She wasn't worried though, because the voice was distinctively Mulder's.

"Thank God you came." Scully gushed as she unlocked the door hurriedly and beamed up at him. He smiled back before indicating in a way only known to Scully that he'd like to come in. She nodded for him to come in before shuffling—or according to Mulder, _waddling_—over and plopping onto her couch. Mulder just smiled admiringly, almost liking the image of the very pregnant Scully, before remembering his place. He took the big bag of sunflower seeds he found and plopped them gently onto her stomach before sitting across from her in the rocking chair Mrs. Scully had given Scully in her 6th month of pregnancy.

Scully eyed the bag hungrily as she greedily opened it and within seconds of opening the bag, she was munching on her 3rd sunflower seed. Mulder stared in shock as Scully almost inhumanly cracked open each sunflower seed, spit the shells into a cup near her and ate the innards before grabbing another, all within the matter of a couple of seconds.

Mulder watched this for 5 minutes before deciding enough was enough. What helped him make this decision? Scully was already 1/3rd through the bag.

"Scully?"

She looked up at him, both curious and irritated. He could tell that the last thing she wanted to do was stop satisfying her craving, but of course it was Mulder talking to her, so she would listen. For now.

"Scully, shouldn't you, I don't know…slow down? You know, keep the bag for another craving?"

Scully looked disbelieving at him for a second before looking down at the bag, most likely to look at how much she had eaten. Once she saw the amount she had eaten, she smiled shyly at Mulder and sighed guiltily. "I guess you're right." She whispered before folding down the top of the bag to preserve the seeds.

Mulder smiled and nodded. "Wise choice."

"You know though," Scully sighed happily, lying back onto the back of her sofa, "you can't exactly blame me."

Mulder scoffed, making words unneeded.

"_You can't exactly blame me, _because he is exactly like his father. He isn't sated easily and he _loves_ sunflower seeds." Scully said pointedly with a little smile.

A small silence filled the air for a couple seconds after Scully's bold statement before another one of Mulder's loud sarcastic scoffs occupied the air around the two. "Don't kid about that stuff Scully!"

Scully just raised one sculpted eyebrow, one that said '_You-think-I'd-joke-about-this?'_

Mulder just rolled his eyes and went into a thoughtful stance, making Scully's little smile grow. _Typical Mulder._ She thought settling down a bit more. She knew she'd be here for awhile. After all, she usually was. When _he _started to think deeply about a subject, he usually went uncharacteristically quiet until reaching a decision. So, Scully prepared herself for a long wait.

Meanwhile, Mulder was doing exactly what Scully thought he would. He was beginning to think intensely, almost unconsciously so. He was thinking over all the times that Scully kidded that he was the father of the baby (_almost too many times to count…_). He of course always thought that it was what it was at face value—a joke. He just assumed that she tried insemination without telling him in the months he was gone or worse—Mulder gulped self-consciously—slept with some random man who obviously abandoned her and the kid.

He'd honestly like to think of Scully as more intelligent than that, to have had a one night stand without protection, but he didn't have much choice now did he? After all, he just couldn't let himself set himself up for such a great disappointment if the baby wasn't his. At the beginning, he even let himself think that that little baby in Scully's womb was his without any basis…he couldn't let himself to that again…

_But how about if it is yours…?_ His conscious whispered (the voice weirdly sounded like Scully's).

_It's not. _He thought firmly.

But despite this thought, he couldn't stop the image crowding in his mind; of himself, a couple of years older and with a little mini Mulder in his arms. Mulder's spinning the mini Mulder around and around on a sunny beach, probably somewhere in Florida, and even Scully is there in the background with the largest smile on her face.

Mulder can't help the longing he feels towards the picture in his mind. Even though he's less than normal (_Scully would say _way _less_), he always craved something normal; not a mortgage or being the coach of his son's baseball team or bring a suitcase to work or anything…but a family of his own would be nice. To be the dad his father never was…

_That would be amazing…if the baby was mine. _Mulder found himself thinking as he looked up from his intertwined hands to Scully's swollen stomach. And this sight made him feel something…a tugging in his mind, as if it was trying to get Mulder to remember something. He could feel Scully's gaze on him, but he ignored it. He needed to concentrate, he needed to remember.

This need was not unfounded; he had suffered from some memory loss during his disappearance…including a month or two before the abduction. So, the chance to gain a memory or two back was a blessing on Mulder's part, who was so used to being able to remember so easily.

A few more minutes of concentrating earned Mulder some success as he felt some memories seep into his brain. _There! _He thought with a mental grin.

_Doppelgangers…fight clubs…_

_Kisses in the dark…skin touching skin…pleasure…_

_A genie…A weird looking genie…_

_Returning to the beginning…X marks the spot..._

_Theresa Hoese__…a wife to a missing man and a mother to a tiny baby now…interviewing her…her walking out of the room and asking Scully to hold her baby…_

_Scully holding that tiny baby in her arms, playing with him…giving him a toy and talking to him in gentle, motherly tones…me smiling sadly at the sight…knowing that Scully will never have that…_

_Scully coming to me in the middle of the night…shaking and cold and sick most likely…"I want you to go home."…"Oh Mulder, I'm going to be fine…"…"The personal costs are too high…It has to end somewhere."…_

_Wait a tick, _Mulder thought, rewinding his thoughts.

_Kisses in the dark…skin touching skin…pleasure…_

_Scully coming to me in the middle of the night…shaking and cold and sick most likely…_

_Sick most likely…_

Mulder made the connection as quick as his tired mind could. And once he reached the conclusion, he felt his eyes widen and his body shake. _How couldn't I have made this connection before…?_

"The baby's mine!" Mulder cried in shock. It was so sudden, it made Scully jump a bit, but once she realized what he had finally admitted to himself she realized how worth it it was.

"Yes, Mulder. I know this already. It was you who was in denial." Scully said smartly with a small grin. But Mulder didn't even seem notice that she had spoken. Instead, he stood up swiftly and cried, "No Scully, you don't understand! You're having a baby!" Mulder laughed almost hysterically and without warning grabbed Scully's hands and brought her to her feet (gently of course).

"I'm going to be a father!" Mulder smiled and took her into his arms, much to her surprise. She stood there for a few seconds, shocked, but then reacted quickly and hugged him close…well as close as she could in her pregnant state.

Mulder meanwhile was kissing her head happily. This means he was going to be a dad…if he wanted it, he could have a day at the beach and a mini Mulder and Scully…he could have to fantasy that was always in the back of his mind since the attempted insemination.

He could have it all…now of course this could be both a great miracle or a curse in disguise (after all, this little baby will need the greatest protection possible against colonization and the government)…but for now, he could be happy about it.

"I hope you know this means that because you're the father of this child, you're the official middle-of-the-night-craving's-man." Scully said her voice muffled in his shoulder.

Mulder laughed and whispered, "If this little guy craves any more sunflower seeds, there might be some competition in the future."

THE END


End file.
